News

Kerala to Produce Goat Plague Vaccine

11 June 2015

INDIA - Kerala state will commence production of its own Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) vaccine to protect the state's two million sheep and goats.

The vaccine will be developed by the Institute for Animal Health and Veterinary Biologicals (IAHVB) at Palode, Kerala with assistance from the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) at Mukteshwar, Bareilly district in Uttar Pradesh state.

Several PPR outbreaks have been reported in Kerala since 2010. National losses on farms are estimated at $28 million (Rs180 crore), across the 200 million head national herd.

The PPR disease is fatal in over half of cases, affecting goats and sheep with high fever, pneumonia, diarrhoea and dehydration and affects India as a whole.

Neighbouring Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal also report the disease.

Current control of the disease involves quarantine and disinfection of the contaminated environment, followed by administration of a live-attenuated vaccine.

Currently, the vaccine is imported from neighbouring states, but soon it will be available in our state, the state animal husbandry official told TheSheepSite.com.

Director, IAHVB, N.N. Sasi said the institute was geared up to begin commercial production of the PPR vaccine using the cell culture method, as trials have shown good results and no adverse effects have been reported and the vaccine remains effective for four years.

The initial production capacity of 500,000 vials per year and that would be increased as per the demand,

As many as 50 animals can be immunized using one vial of vaccine. An effective vero-cell line based live attenuated indigenous freeze-dried vaccine has been developed and validated using extensive field trials.

The vaccine has a shelf life of more than one year at 4°C and provides immunity for three years. The -vaccine is safe, potent and acceptable for use even during pregnancy.

Recently, Gujarat based pharmaceutical company, Hester Biosciences, launched its PPR vaccine and goat pox vaccine. Hester is also the first company in India to manufacture the goat pox vaccine.